1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a ball-point pen having a cylindrical housing and an ink-filled writing cartridge, with a writing tip capable of being brought into a writing position exterior of the housing and into an inoperative position within the housing. This is accomplished by moving the cartridge by means of a spring-loaded pushbutton disposed at the end of the housing remote from the writing tip.
2. Prior Art
Ordinarily, with such ball-point pens the ink-filled writing cartridge is guided and disposed inside the pen housing such that upon a first depression of a pushbutton the writing tip moves slightly outward beyond the end of the housing remote from the pushbutton, whereupon the pen can be used. Upon a second depression of the pushbutton the cartridge is retracted back into the housing. Such ball-point pens have generally proven practical, but they have a definite disadvantage in that it is not possible to substantially shorten the overall length of the pen in the out-of-use position (as is desirable for many applications such as when the pen is to be carried in a woman's evening purse) without at the same time also shortening the effective length of the pen in the use position. A shortened pen is undesirable because writing is made more difficult.